Multi-purpose cap clip

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6481060
  • Patent Number
    6,481,060
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, June 12, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 19, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Sandy; Robert J.
    • Jackson; André L.
    Agents
    • Pro-Techtor International Services
Abstract
A multi-purpose cap clip, comprising a clip unit, a holding device, and an accessory object. The clip unit has a fixing plate and two clasping plates to two sides of the fixing plate, with the fixing plate and the two clasping plates clasping a brim of a cap. The accessory object has a holding element which fits on the holding device and is held thereby. After assembly of the structural parts, the clip unit fastens the accessory object on the brim of the cap.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a multi-purpose cap clip, particularly to a multi-purpose cap clip for fastening an accessory object to a cap worn by a person.




2. Description of Related Art




Caps are often used clothing articles worn outdoors to provide protection against the sun. For other functions, accessory objects supplement caps, e.g. sunglasses for protecting the eyes against the sun. At events, for propaganda purposes, caps are distributed to participants, carrying certain imprinted patterns or small flags or other decorative objects to be well seen.




These examples for accessory objects on caps mostly require using dedicated special caps with the accessory objects fixed thereon, which must be especially made. On the other hand, some supplementary objects on caps have fixing elements to be fastened to caps. But then caps and supplementary objects are fixed together, allowing only for a single function. For various functions, various caps have to be prepared, which is inconvenient.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is the main object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which allows to put various accessory objects on a brim of a cap.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which has a simple structure and is inexpensive.




A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which fits on a cap that is commonly available on the market, so that the Cap accommodates various accessory objects without modification.




The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in the first embodiment.





FIGS. 1A-1C

are perspective views of variations of the fixing element of the present invention in the first embodiment.





FIGS. 2A-2C

are perspective views of various accessory objects held by the present invention in the first embodiment.





FIGS. 3A-3D

are schematic illustrations of the present invention in the first embodiment used in conjunction with various accessory objects.





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in the second embodiment.





FIG. 5

is a perspective view of the present invention in the second embodiment, with an accessory object mounted thereon.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




As shown in

FIG. 1

, ,the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in a first embodiment has a clip unit


10


to be fastened to a brim


21


of a cap


20


, as shown in

FIGS. 3A-3D

. The clip unit


10


comprises: a base plate


11


, which is a rectangular plate; a fixing plate


12


, extending away from the base plate


11


from a middle part thereof in a rearward direction; and two clasping plates


13


, extending rearward from two ends of the base plate.


11


. The fixing plate


12


, the base plate


11


and the two clasping plates


13


lie in a common plane or in different planes. As shown in

FIGS. 3A-3D

, the fixing plate


12


and the two clasping plates


13


of the clip unit


10


clasp upper and lower sides of the brim


21


of the cap


20


. Since the fixing plate


12


and the two clasping plates


13


are elastic, the clip unit


10


is held tight on the brim


21


. The present invention further has a holding device


15


for fastening an accessory object


30


on the. clip unit


10


.




Referring again to

FIG. 1

, for keeping the clip unit


10


on the brim


21


with an increased holding force, the two clasping plates


13


have several teeth


14


on a surface thereof that contacts the brim


21


. Thus holding friction between the two clasping plates


13


and the brim


21


is increased.




Referring to

FIGS. 2A

to


2


C, the present invention is able to hold various accessory objects


30


. As shown in

FIG. 2A

, the accessory object


30


is a flag with a lower end which is attached to a holding base


31


. The holding base


31


is held by the holding device


15


of the clip unit


10


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the holding unit


15


comprises two curved elastic plates


16


, attached to the fixing plate


12


on an upper side thereof. A gap is left between the two elastic plates


16


and the fixing plate


12


, forming the holding device


15


and allowing to insert the holding base


31


. The holding base


31


of the accessory object


30


is formed like the inverted letter T and is easily inserted into the holding device


15


, so that the accessory object


30


is mounted on the clip unit


10


.





FIGS. 2B and 2C

show further variations of accessory objects. As shown in

FIG. 2B

, an accessory object


30


A is used which is a toy wind wheel


31


A set on a holding base


32


A. As shown in

FIG. 2B

, an accessory object


30


B is used which is a pair of sunglasses


31


B, to which a central holding element


32


B is attached.





FIGS. 3A-3D

show various ways of mounting the accessory object


30


on the clip unit


10


. Depending on the kind of accessory object used, the holding device


15


is placed on the upper side or the lower side of the brim


21


, then the accessory object is put on the holding device


15


. As shown in

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, with the accessory object


30


,


30


A being a flag and a toy wind wheel, respectively, the holding device


15


is placed on the upper side of the brim


21


. On the other hand, as shown in

FIGS. 3C and 3D

, with the accessory object


30


B being a pair of sunglasses, the holding device


15


is placed on the lower side of the brim


21


. Then the holding element


32


B is inserted into the holding device


15


, allowing to adjust a tilting angle of the sunglasses


31


B.




Referring to

FIGS. 1A-1C

, the holding device


15


has several variations. Therein, as shown in

FIG. 1A

, a holding device


15


A is used which is a single curved elastic plate


16


A, attached to a fixing plate


12


A at a central position thereof. Alternatively, as shown in

FIG. 1A

, a holding device


15


B is used which is a single curved elastic plate


16


A, attached to a fixing plate


12


B at an asymmetric lateral position thereof. Finally, as shown in

FIG. 1C

, a holding device


15


C is used which is a circular hole in a fixing plate


12


C.




The present invention allows a user to mount any of various accessory objects on the cap


20


, serving multiple purposes. The same cap carries a flag, sunglasses or another object without any need of modification.




Referring now to

FIGS. 4 and 5

, the present invention in a second embodiment comprises a clip unit


40


, a pair of sunglasses


50


; and a movable seat


60


. The clip unit


40


further comprises: a base plate


41


, which is a rectangular plate; a fixing plate


42


, extending away from the base plate


41


from a middle part thereof in a rearward direction; two clasping plates


43


, extending rearward from two ends of the base plate


41


and, together with the fixing plate


42


, clasping the brim


21


of the cap


20


. The movable seat


60


is mounted on the fixing plate


42


and movable thereon, carrying the sunglasses


50


, allowing to position the sunglasses


50


on the fixing plate


42


.




The fixing plate has a central opening


45


, taking in the movable seat


60


. As shown in

FIGS. 4 and 5

, the movable seat


60


has a main body


61


with a lower side which carries an elastic hook


62


. When the movable seat is mounted on the fixing plate


42


, the elastic hook


62


reaches through the opening


45


to a location below the fixing plate


42


. The sunglasses


50


, at a top edge thereof in a central position, have a holding rod


51


. The holding rod


51


is inserted in the elastic hook


62


, so that the sunglasses


50


are held on the fixing plate


42


.




For adjusting a tilting angle of the sunglasses


50


, the main body


61


of the movable seat


60


on two ends thereof has positioning projections


64


, and the two ends of the holding rod


51


each carry a cog


52


. The positioning projections


64


Sand the cogs


52


engage, holding the sunglasses


50


at a fixed tilting angle.




The present invention in the second embodiment serves to hold a pair of sunglasses on a cap. The main characteristic thereof is that the sunglasses


50


have an adjustable distance from the eyes of a user, adjusted by moving the movable seat


60


on the fixing plate


42


. With the positioning projections


64


and the cogs


52


mutually engaging in various positions, the tilting angle of the sunglasses


50


is conveniently adjusted.




As the above explanation shows, the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention has a simple structure and is inexpensive, allowing to mount any kind of accessory objects on a cap with a brim at low cost and in an economical way. The present invention is combinable with various accessory objects. Any manufacturer producing accessory objects for caps only needs to provide a holding element on each accessory object that fits into the holding device


15


of the clip unit


10


, so as to connect the accessory object with the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention. Thus caps serve multiple additional functions. Furthermore, the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention is suitable for all caps without any need of modifications. Therefore, a manufacturer of accessory objects does not need to produce further, specialized caps.




While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention which is defined by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A multi-purpose cap clip, comprising:a clip unit having a fixing plate and two clasping plates extending from and generally perpendicular to a base plate, said clasping plates being positioned at sides of said fixing plate, such that said fixing plate and said clasping plates form a clasping mechanism to secure said clip unit at three contact areas to a brim of a cap, said fixing plate being positioned on a first side of a distal end of said brim of said cap, and said clasping plates being positioned on a second side of said distal end of said brim of said cap; a holding device; and an accessory object having a holding element which engages said holding device and is secured in place thereby; wherein after assembly, said clip unit fastens said accessory object to said distal end of said brim of said cap.
  • 2. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 1, wherein:at least one of said fixing plate and said two clasping plates of said clip unit comprise a plurality of teeth on a surface that contacts said brim of said cap to increase holding friction.
  • 3. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 1, wherein:said accessory object is a pair of sunglasses, and said holding device is mounted on a movable seat, said movable seat being movably mounted on said fixing plate, so that said pair of sunglasses is movable along said clip unit.
  • 4. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 3, wherein:at least one cog is attached to said pair of sunglasses and said movable seat has at least one projection that engages said at least one cog, providing a means to fix an angle of said pair of sunglasses. relative to said brim of said cap.
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